Okay, normally I’m opposed to skipping version numbers, but in the case of Winamp it seems like the right decision. I’ve used Winamp since the early days of MP3s (and for you n00bs that’s the 90s, not 2001 😉 ), but I was very disappointed with version 3. I went back to the previous rev since they were still supporting it, but I began to look for a new media player. Well, I have to say that my search ended right were I started it. There are just so many things they did right here I can’t even list them all. Bringing back the old Playlist Editor and making a far more sophisticated Media Library are major points. I’ve never been one to have my apps organize anything for me. I put my files where I want them to be, but this library is very simple to use, and I’ve actually started to use it.
Along with the libray, they’ve also really streamlined the whole Internet Radio/TV thing. I was more than pleasantly surprised to double-click on a link and find myself watching a stream of REM @ Sessions. Now I’m sitting at working listening to an 80’s station broadcast from God knows where. This morning I tried the ripping features and had a CD done in about 6 minutes. That’s good enough for me.
To put it another way, I’ve actually purchased the Pro version. I rarely pay for software, so that’s gotta say something. Now I just have to get around to buying a 200 GB hard drive for my server to rip my entire music collection 🙂 .